


In Death a Hero

by Mara



Category: Kamen Rider W (Double)
Genre: Character Study, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-12
Updated: 2014-12-12
Packaged: 2018-03-01 03:01:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2757071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mara/pseuds/Mara
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In his own mind, Sudo Kirihiko was always a hero.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Death a Hero

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger warning for domestic violence (not explicit).

In his own mind, Kirihiko was always a hero.

Which might seem odd to anyone who watched his day-to-day activities, but the human mind has an amazing ability to delude itself. And Kirihiko had been deluding himself about the potential results of his ambition even before he was given the Nazca GaiaMemory.

Once that had entered his mind...well, he was already lost, wasn't he? It warped him, warped his love for the city, warped his ambitions, turning them from gold to brass.

He came to believe that the Memories would help humans become superior, that the loss of a few filthy adults was acceptable to build the future he imagined in Fuuto. 

Nazca even warped his love for his wife.

Every time Saeko hit him, Kirihiko was sure it wouldn't happen again. Because he loved her and would do anything for her. And surely she'd see it when he made another breakthrough, when he sold more GaiaMemories, when he proved that he was worthy.

Every time Saeko hit him, Kirihiko let her. Because if she was hitting him, clearly he wasn't worthy yet.

Until the end, he believed he could save her, that she loved him as much as he did.

The amazing thing, really, is not Kirihiko's villainy (of which there's ample evidence) but the extent to which he retained some kind of principles despite the overwhelming power of the GaiaMemory and the Sonozaki family.

Despite his ambition, despite the way Saeko twisted him, despite the Nazca's effect on him, he fought to keep Memories out of the hands of children. 

When he realized the extent of the evil plan, he tried to fight back. He helped Kamen Rider. He even tried to leave his beloved city.

He couldn't have known that it was too late.

In his own mind, Kirihiko was always a hero. And in the end, perhaps he really was.

\--end--


End file.
